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Take control of your epilepsy and seizures. Seizure management has never been easier.
TAKE CONTROL TODAY
I'll keep it short for you all, I had 2 suspected complex partials last year, but had no witnesses so it was just an "educated guess" Well, last week, 8 hours after giving blood, my own personal hell resumed from it's remission. Anyways, I had a Complex partial (I guess what I believe to be a complex partial) In front of a whole class. (I'm only a high school student, 17 to be exact.) It was rather embarrassing, but people did not realize it was a seizure, I didn't think I had a seizure, but only passed out from giving blood. After learning that all I did was stare, rock back and forth in my seat, and mindlessly preform hand-movements it was clear that I did not pass out, but the damn seizures have come back. Basically last year they didn't help me too much as I didn't have a witness, which I understand, but is it worth going back now? I'm afraid of losing my license and I was on medicine for a portion of last year (depakote) but It's side-effects really changed my life.
Please help,
Mitch.
Recent Comments on this Discussion
I think you should visit neurologist continusly.It's very important to visit him agian and agian because it's very much important.I think you should not left neurologist untill you feel yourself fit.In these days I am in search of a good domain name registration company for analysing the importance of good name.
Hi Mitch,
My "absent" seizures started when I was 16. I think you should definitely continue going back to the Neurologist, but try a different one. Get a few opinions and maybe some different meds. While I never took depakote, I am currently on Lamictal and Trileptal but it took three doctors to fix it. I ended up having a temporal lobectomy which seemed to work, i have been seizure free for 7 months. It's hard when you're in high school, trust me i know. I had to choose a college in the city because I cannot drive. I still have my license, but I don't drive. When my seizures started I was seizure free for awhile, then had one when I was driving. I hit a pole and flipped my car, with no memory of actually hitting the pole and flipping over. I was lucky enough to walk out with just some body aches. Your seizures could get more intense and more frequent if you do not continue the medicine. I would definitely recommend a new doctor or some new medication.
Without a doubt, you should go see your neurologist.
Am I to assume that you stopped the Depakote on your own? Depakote can work wonders if titrated slowly and in small increments however, what may work for one may not work for another. Know that there are many other AEDs to choose from. Although you only had one seizure (and I do believe it was a CPS) you could very well have another. If you happen to be driving, well....I don't think I have to tell you of the dangers to either yourself or to someone else.
You can have a quality of life while being on AEDs. All you have to do is convey to your neuro how you feel. If they're not willing to be compassionate to your needs then find another neurologist.
Mitch....make that call!
~Karen
Hi Mitch,
I didn't know I had temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) all my life until my Social Psychology professor told me
that the "looked like someone having a heart-attack" seizure I had in his classroom matched the
criteria for Partial Complex Seizures listed in a medical journal he had just read. Before that, my
seizures would elicit remarks from other people that can best be summarized as "You know, that boy's
just not right."
A seizure that struck me during High School in the last half of my sophmore year had the signs and
symptoms you describe 8 hours after giving blood. My seizure's hand-movements were the wadding up
of individual pages in my spiral-notebook repeatedly, which was interrupted when the teacher flipped
me and my desk over and dragged me out of the classroom by my legs before I regained awareness, surrounded by my dumbfounded classmates, who later described to me what happened.
Syncopal attacks do not always cause a person to pass out; tilt table test are often used to determine
if syncope may be caused by positional abnormal drops in blood pressure. "Syncopal attacks are frequently
associated with myoclonic jerking, rolling of the eyes and brief automatisms and, conversely epileptic
seizures may manifest with syncopal-like attacks." (The Epilepsies, by C P Panayiotopoulos, copyright
2005). I quickly ruled out syncope as being an imitator of epilepsy in causing my seizure-like sensations,
but migraines still might be a cause for my sensations. Late adulthood secondary tonic-clonics during clusters of partial
seizures clinched the diagnosis of epilepsy for such clusters (Keppra works well at stopping the tonic-
clonics and minimizing the clusters, after repeated slow titrations to avoid the side-effects); isolated
partial simple/complex seizures didn't respond to AEDs, so I'm still trying to blame them as migraines
with seizure-like effects.
The Geschwind Syndrome is often mentioned as a result of long-term uncontrolled TLE, and it is some-
times regarded as likely irreversible if frequent seizures from TLE continue through late adolescence into
adulthood; this observation/theory is rejected by a majority of neurologists. I developed many
aspects of the syndrome, so for me, tolerating minor to moderate seizures while stopping major
seizures with the least amount of AED intoxication, and avoiding possible Forced Normalization, seems
to be the best target to aim for in my case.
I hope this helps.